Quote:
Originally Posted by electricron
My point is just as valid as before, they need more cash to actually finish the railroad between SF and LA - or two, three, or four times more time.
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The state has run gigantic surpluses for the past few years. Prudently, those funds were used to shore up the state pension fund and cash reserves 2017-2020.
California, right now, has almost enough cash on hand and due in its coffers within the next 12 months to pay cash for the rest of this project:
https://calmatters.org/commentary/20...t-surplus-lao/
There is no way that the governor and legislature would ever hand a huge sum to CAHSR without also allocating money to local transit, but as many have mentioned here before, much of the CAHSR project *is* local transit since many upgrades are being made to commuter rail in the Bay and LA.
The current surplus is so profound that the state could easily hand over the cash to build the tunnel between 4th/King and Transbay, which would help peninsula commuters in the short-term.
In LA they could upgrade commuter rail from Burbank to Anaheim to CAHSR specs - all grade separations, Union Station upgrades, and electrification.
There is also potential in the Bay to improve ACE and Capitol Corridor by electrifying to CAHSR/Caltrains specs in anticipation of the second Transbay Tube.